Swimming in Cape Town’s oceans could be described as “refreshing”, and that’s especially true for the area along the Atlantic Seaboard.

More accurately, the water is close to freezing and you can feel every bone in your body aching the second you go more than ankle deep.

Watching people dip a toe in the water on Clifton Fourth, before shaking their heads and wandering back to the umbrella is almost as much fun as watching the English tourists crack that first sunburn of the summer.

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and dive in, although those who know Camps Bay well might direct you to the tidal pool.

Cape Town Etc recently included the tidal pool on their list of Cape Town’s best kept secret locations, alongside Beta Beach in Bakoven and Saunder’s Rock in Sea Point.

From that write-up:

Many people who have called Camps Bay home for decades have not even discovered this secret location.

Warmed by the rays of the sun this generous tidal pool is wide enough to swim laps and shallow enough to safely swim with kids and is undoubtedly the perfect place for a morning swim.

Camps Bay beach is often over loaded with people and when it is, this lesser-known tidal pool is a great plan B. It offers clean, clear water and a few schools of friendly fish too.

A quick search on the hashtag #campsbaytidalpool proves that it’s not entirely under wraps, but it’s true that many folks don’t bother to look further than Camps Bay beach if they’re in the area.

That bit above about ‘warmed by the rays’ is also important, because the water does tend to be a little less jarring.

Secret Cape Town backs that up, adding that “depending on the tide and how the South East wind has been blowing, sometimes the water in the pool can be a bit warmer than that of the ocean next door”.

Every bit of warmth counts.

Given that it’s situated just off the Camps Bay strip, the tidal pools are perfect for a quick splash while it’s warm, watching the sunset, and then heading in that direction.

It’s only around 500 metres to Café Caprice, which is hardly enough to work up a sweat, but does justify smashing a cocktail or two.

If you managed to get your laps in, you may want to get stuck into a burger, and Tuesday’s 2-for-1 special makes them even harder to resist.

To kickstart your Fridays, they’re also running a ‘Bubbly and Friesday’ special, which from 4PM every Friday until the end of February.

For R80, you get a glass of bubbly and a serving of skinny fries, or R280 gets you a bottle of bubbly and skinny fries.

We’ve all heard the joke about how tourists come here for a week, and see more of the city than the locals do in months.

Time to start getting out and about in your own city, starting with a trip to those tidal pools and a visit to the ‘strip’.